


Pool Party

by Skimmers



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Hot Tub, Swimming Pools, Underage Drinking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-18
Updated: 2019-06-18
Packaged: 2020-05-14 01:19:54
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,263
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19263079
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Skimmers/pseuds/Skimmers
Summary: Excerpt:Seeing Rey’s dead serious look only deepen, Rose raised her right hand and in her most serious tone added, “I, Rose, hereby solemnly swear that I will ensure Rey and I arrive back to my home alone and unharmed after Poe’s party.”Rey gave her a hard stare for a few more seconds before her face cracked into a smile and she doubled over from raucous laughter.“You!” Rose seethed, realizing she’d been fooled. “If you ever get bored with academics, Miss Straight A Valedictorian, you should major in drama!  You’re better at acting than whomever it was that won the Best Actress Oscar this year!”“Wait!  Who did win the Best Actress Oscar this year?” Rey asked.“I don’t remember,” Rose replied, shaking her head and making her bob swing so a few strands got stuck in her lipstick. “But she wasn’t very good, at all.  Which is why I don’t remember her name!  Hey, I wonder if she slept with someone to win that award…”“Rose,” Rey laughed, “If you cared half as much about your grades as you do pop culture, you’d rival me for valedictorian!”





	Pool Party

 

“Rey!” Rose exclaimed as she embraced her in a bear hug, “You MUST come to Poe’s party tonight! His parents are out of town! It will be the best party of the summer!”

“Hello, to you, too, Rose,” Rey giggled as she greeted her newly arrived best friend in the driveway. Why Rose would deign to come to the wrong side of town to pick her up was beyond Rey’s reasoning, but she appreciated her friend taking the extra steps to ensure she did not get left out for lack of many things their classmates took for granted. Things like a car, three meals a day, or even having clean clothes to choose from when getting dressed in the morning.

“Who is Poe, anyway?” Rey asked, leaning against Rose’s car. Rey hated spending time inside her foster home, as did Rose, and skipped a perfunctory offer to come inside.

“Oh!” Rose exclaimed, “I forgot you don’t know Poe! He’s friends with Finn and me, our parents have been friends since _forever_. He graduated already, but he’s home for the summer and his parents are out of town! He’s inviting his college friends, plus Finn and me. Don’t worry, he won’t mind I’m taking you with me!”

“I don’t know, Rose,” Rey waffled, “I only know you and Finn. I’ll be so uncomfortable at a party surrounded by strangers. I doubt I’d have any fun.”

“But Poe’s house is on _the water_! The views are _amazing,_ and we can have a bonfire on the beach!” Rose squealed.

“Waterfront? Beach bonfire? Rose, what would I know about parties at beachfront homes?!? I’m from the poorest part of town and share a room with three other foster kids! Besides, I must study this summer for the SAT in the fall. I can’t afford a tutor or some test prep class. I must ace the SAT if I have any hope of getting into a good college and earning a scholarship. I have got to escape this miserable existence…” Rey moaned.

“Rey,” Rose gently chastised, putting a hand on her hip. “All you do is study. You’re top of our class and you take the hardest courses! You’ll get into college, a good one! Relax and come to Poe’s party, you’ve earned a night off!”

Seeing Rey’s highly skeptical look and not wanting to be defeated, Rose added, “Who knows? Poe’s parents are on the admissions committee at the U…think of it as networking! You might even get a scholarship out of the connections you make tonight!”

“For argument’s sake,” Rey bantered, “Let’s say I do agree to go. How am I going to get there? I don’t live on that side of town, I don’t even have a car. And wait, I know you’ve got all the answers, Rose, but humor me! Let’s say you’ve got transportation figured out. You know my foster home has an early curfew! Even if I have a way to get to the party, I’d have to leave before it starts to make curfew or find somewhere else to sleep.”

“Rey,” Rose scolded her, “His parents’ McMansion has a ton of bedrooms!”

“Oh, yes, because what could go wrong sleeping in the McMansion of a spoiled rich boy after a party where everyone undoubtedly drinks.” Rey retorted with dripping sarcasm, an exaggerated eye roll leaving no doubt should Rose overlook her tone.

“You’re so funny!” Rose giggled as she playfully slapped Rey’s arm, ignoring Rey’s sarcastic tone and refusing to let Rey derail her happy mood.

Rey stopped, turning to Rose with a look serious enough to stop Rose’s laughter.

“Fine,” Rose huffed, adding an eye roll of her own that rivaled Rey’s, “I will pick you up, drive you to Poe’s party, and you’ll stay the night at my house.”

Seeing Rey’s dead serious look only deepen, Rose raised her right hand and in her most serious tone added, “I, Rose, hereby solemnly swear that I will ensure Rey and I arrive back to my home alone and unharmed after Poe’s party.”

Rey gave her a hard stare for a few more seconds before her face cracked into a smile and she doubled over from raucous laughter.

“You!” Rose seethed, realizing she’d been fooled. “If you ever get bored with academics, Miss Straight A Valedictorian, you should major in drama! You’re better at acting than whomever it was that won the Best Actress Oscar this year!”

“Wait! Who did win the Best Actress Oscar this year?” Rey asked.

“I don’t remember,” Rose replied, shaking her head and making her bob swing so a few strands got stuck in her lipstick. “But she wasn’t very good, _at all_. Which is why I don’t remember her name! Hey, I wonder if she slept with someone to win that award…”

“Rose,” Rey laughed, “If you cared half as much about your grades as you do pop culture, you’d rival me for valedictorian!”

“Don’t worry!” Rose assured her, “I don’t need a scholarship so I’ll stay up on pop culture while you lock up valedictorian!”

“You’re the best, Rose!” Rey declared as she gave her a big hug. “What time will you pick me up?”

“Oh, honey,” Rose chided as she shook her head in disbelief, “We’re both getting ready at my home starting right now. You can’t throw on whatever’s clean to wear and add lip gloss for a party at Poe’s!”

As Rey’s already pale face lost what little color she had as thoughts of how inadequate her wardrobe and makeup skills were for Poe’s party, Rose’s face dawned with realization of why Rey was not equally excited.

“Hey!” Rose soothed her, as she patted Rey’s arm, “Don’t worry! I’ve got enough makeup and hair products to last a network TV show a full year! And a closet with enough clothes for an entire sorority house! We’ll raid my closet, find something you look so much better in than me I’ll never be able to wear it again, and gossip as we do our hair and makeup! It will be so much fun!”

Rey faked a smile for Rose as she once again cursed whatever higher power was responsible for placing her in a foster home zoned for the one public high school where the Maseratis in the parking lot belonged to the students.

“You win,” Rey conceded, as she got into Rose’s Maserati. _Because sometimes the stereotypes are actually true_ , Rey thought, while trying not to blame fate for giving her the short stick in the lottery of birth.

For the umpteenth time, Rey felt like she was an out of place scholarship student at a private prep school. Rey continued to get lost in her thoughts while nodding along to Rose’s friendly chatter that continued unabated as they walked into her home, a mini-McMansion in Rey’s opinion, and up to the suite of rooms consisting of Rose’s humongous bedroom, sprawling bathroom, and a closest larger than Rey’s shared bedroom.

“Rey?” Rose repeated, “Which of these do you like best?”

Rey silently scolded herself for not paying closer attention as she considered the two dresses Rose was holding up, a black sundress with spaghetti straps and cut outs on the sides in her right hand and a blue and white halter dress with no back in the left. Neither of which would be anything close to an appropriate length on the much taller Rey.

“Um, Rose,” Rey tentatively ventured, “You know I love you dearly, but I’m a _little_ bit taller than you. I don’t think either of those dresses will exactly be a decent length on me…”

Rose threw her head back and laughed. “Rey,” she gently said, “It’s a pool party. No one will be wearing anything considered decent! Not that it matters when everyone will be stripping down to bikinis and swimming shorts anyways!”

Rose then turned around, grabbed something out of her massive closet, and held it up for Rey, “I got you this to wear tonight!”

“Oh. Great, lovely, absolutely wonderful.” Rey quietly said with deadpan sarcasm as she took in the red string bikini. “So in addition to feeling poor and out of place, I’ll also be scantily clad. Can anything make me feel more uncomfortable?”

“Well,” Rose cautiously ventured, “Being that it is a beachfront home, and Poe also has a pool, everyone will be swimming in the pool.”

“Rose!” Rey barely breathed from the horror enveloping her, “I can’t swim! At all! I never took lessons! Ugh! Just when I think things can’t worse, you inform me I’ll be practically naked in a bikini trying not to drown!”

Rey groaned as she sunk to the floor, hung her head, and buried her face in her hands.

“If it makes you feel better,” Rose slowly began, “Not many girls actually swim, it ruins their makeup and hair. They just wear their bikinis….or, as you described it, ‘scantily clad’ outfit.”

“Ah, so instead of death by drowning, it will be by embarrassment and humiliation next to a body of water. Unless I throw myself into the water to end the suffering…”

“See!” Rose squealed, “You’d be a great actress! You really should consider taking drama in college!”

**************

Three hours later, Rose declared they were both ready for the hottest club in Seattle, or Poe’s party, with both having equally high standards, much to Rey’s chagrin. Rey did not have money to spend on makeup, and no one had ever bothered to teach her how to put it on. Or rather, Rose had begged to teach Rey everything about makeup application, but Rey steadfastly refused every offer.  It was an awkward and uncomfortable experience having Rose spend one hour solely on Rey’s makeup. She was wearing more products than she knew existed, much less their purpose or how to apply them. The only thing more uncomfortable than the makeup were the high heels she was wearing, courtesy of Rose’s older sister, Paige. As with the makeup, Rey had no experience with wearing high heels. Growing up in foster care, she was lucky to have one pair of shoes that fit and were still in good condition. High heels for special occasions? Rey could only dream of such luxuries, although wearing high heels felt more like a nightmare.

Rey and Rose scrutinized their reflections in the mirror; Rey in a skimpy black sundress over a red bikini and Rose in denim shorts and a blue crop top over her yellow bikini. Rey hardly recognized herself after all the time Rose spent on her makeup and putting her hair in an updo that looked far more casual than the time it took to style.

“Rose,” Rey cautiously ventured in horror, “This dress barely covers my ass!”

“Rey,” Rose replied, “Neither do my shorts! We’ll fit in wearing these outfits, even though you’re uncomfortable. Try to relax, if you feel more comfortable, you’ll act more comfortable, and if you act comfortable, you might actually have fun!”

“Rose,” Rey softly explained, “I have to hustle to eat three meals a day. Feeling comfortable at a party in a McMansion hosted by a spoiled rich boy who’s never known hunger in his life is not in my repertoire.”

“Well,” Rose replied, as she looked Rey up and down, “with long legs like yours in that dress, the guys at the party will be falling over themselves to make you feel comfortable as they fight for your attention! Although you may have more luck if you avoid words like ‘repertoire’.”

“Yeah,” Rey grimaced, “That is not helping me feel comfortable. At all.”

“Fine,” Rose exhaled as she walked over to the mini-fridge in her room, poured a Coke into a glass, and added liquid from a small bottle she pulled from a drawer, “try this. I promise it will help you relax.”

“Rum?” Rey questioned as she looked at the small empty bottle, too surprised Rose had given it to her to wonder why her high school classmate had alcohol in her room.

“Yup!” Rose smiled, as she handed Rey a full glass. “Rum and Coke! Hurry and drink it, we need to get to the party!”

“But Rose,” Rey blurted out, trying not to panic, “I don’t drink!”

“Rey,” Rose calmly said like she was talking to a child and not her friend, “You’re the only one who doesn’t drink. If you want to fit in at the party, act like everyone else. Drink like everyone else. If that’s not reason enough, then drink it so you’ll calm the fuck down and have fun tonight! Please! I want to have fun tonight and I can’t if I’m worried about you!”

_Shit,_ Rey thought, while aloud she said, “Fine. Bottom’s up!” And just like that, Rey downed her first rum and Coke before she and Rose headed out to her first pool party.

***********

Rey’s jaw hit the floor of Rose’s Maserati as they coasted down Poe’s driveway. The unrelenting wall of Evergreens leading down the sloping driveway had given way to an unparalleled sunset over Puget Sound with the Olympic Mountains in the background. Rey knew Poe lived on the water, but knowing it and actually seeing the Puget Sound as the car exited the trees and rolled down the long, sloping driveway was something else. Growing up in barren Eastern Washington surrounded by tumbleweeds and residual ash from Mt. St. Helens, the lush green trees and sparkling blue waters dominating Western Washington never ceased to enchant Rey.

As Rose pulled up and parked in front of the twin three-car garages bracketing the main entrance, Rey gulped before taking a deep breath in. Realizing the six luxury cars parked in front of the garage doors undoubtedly belonged to the other rich party guests who arrived earlier, Rey gasped.

_Am I the only person at this party who has had to work for something instead of having everything handed to them on a silver platter?!_ Rey thought to herself, not wanting to share her feelings with Rose. _The resale value of these cars alone would cover four years’ tuition at any college in the country!_

“Isn’t Poe’s house so CUTE?!?” Rose squealed as she clasped her hands together and gave her “so happy I could burst” smile. “I just LOVE the red brick! It’s so….not rustic, it’s…refined and elegant, unlike the modern architecture of new homes.”

“It’s certainly….elegant,” Rey nearly whispered as she followed Rose into the grand entrance way. Not one, but two grand staircases wrapped around the walls of the entrance way leading up to the second story. _The cream color accented by dark brown wood is very elegant_ , Rey thought. _So elegant, I lack the social standing to even be a maid in this mansion…._

“I bet whomever designed this was an extreme Type A personality,” Rose confided, hoping to relax Rey with idle chitchat, “The symmetry of the dual garages outside plus the twin staircases the second you walk in would only come from an extreme Type A personality.”

Rey turned to her friend and softly laughed, thankful Rose injected some humor to lighten up Rey’s obvious discomfort at being surrounded by so much wealth and privilege.

In the center of the entryway, between the twin staircases, Rey saw what she thought was the living room. She didn’t stop to think whether people this rich called it a living room or something else she’d never heard of as her thoughts and breathing suddenly stopped as she glimpsed the Puget Sound through the big bay window. Despite living in a town located directly on Puget Sound, Rey rarely saw it. She lived as far from the water as she could and still be in the city limits. Rey rarely had an opportunity to even glimpse Puget Sound as her life rarely took her to those parts of town. _And Poe gets to see this every day! He can fall asleep to this view and wake up to it._

Rey, as though she were in a trance, started walking closer to the bay window, enamored by the water view and oblivious to Rose chattering beside her. Rey’s walk ceased when she reached the bay window, managing to stop just shy of bumping her nose into the glass. She stared in awe at the sunset sky streaked with oranges, yellows, and soft purple and its reflection on the water below.

“ROSE!” a deep male voice thundered, shaking Rey from her reverie. She reluctantly turned away from the water view to see a brunette male with a confident, self-assured grin engulf Rose in a bear hug. Before she could form a coherent thought, the stranger spun Rose around and locked eyes on Rey. Deep brown eyes hungrily looked Rey up and down before locking on her eyes. “Rose, you haven’t introduced me to your friend!”

Rose laughed and slapped the stranger on his chest before chiding, “Poe! This is Rey! Be nice! She’s my friend! So don’t be a jerk!”

Poe threw his head back in laughter as he set Rose down. “Hello, Rey,” he drawled as he stuck out his hand to shake hers, his intense eyes never wavering from hers as his lips curved up in a seductive smile. “I’m Poe. Nice to meet you.”

“Hi, Poe,” Rey softly replied, wondering as she shook his hand if she was looking into the eyes of a gentleman or a skilled player.

“Rose!” Another male voice boomed. This one Rey recognized as Rose’s boyfriend Finn, who quickly appeared and followed Poe’s lead in engulfing Rose in yet another hug.

“Rey!” Finn exclaimed with obvious joy, “You made it!” Then turning to Rey, as he started leading Rose away by her hand, he added, “I hope you don’t mind, I’m stealing Rose.”

Rey watched Finn lead Rose away hoping her horror didn’t show on her face. _She swore she’d stay with me_ , Rey frantically thought. _She knows how scared I was to come to a party where I didn’t know anyone and she’s ditched me within minutes of arriving!_

“Finnegan, my man! Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do!” Poe called after the happy couple before roaring with laughter, “Rey, guess you’re stuck with me for the night!”

Offering Rey his elbow, Poe asked in his most formal tone, “May I give you the grand tour of Casa de la Dameron?”

Rey giggled as she placed her hand in the crook of his elbow, “That would be nice. Thank you!”

“My pleasure, mademoiselle,” Poe drawled as he led Rey through the living room and into a kitchen larger than the entire home Rey currently lived in. “How do you know Rose?”

“We’re classmates,” Rey replied with ease, feeling comfortable talking to Poe.

“Here,” Poe offered, handing Rey a glass filled with a cola-colored drink, “Party punch. You’ll love it!”

“It’s not alcoholic, right?” Rey cautiously asked. “I don’t want to be rude and get drunk in your home!”

Poe laughed, “Don’t worry about that! Who serves alcohol to high school students?!”

Rey laughed as she sipped from the glass. “This is great!” she enthused. “What is it?”

“It’s my special iced tea recipe. If you ask me nicely tomorrow, I just might share it!” Poe told her with a wink.

“Did you pick up your ‘special recipe’ in college?” Rey joked while sipping her delicious drink, “Hey! Where do you go to college?”

Poe smiled, “What makes you think I’m in college?”

“Well,” Rey began, taking several more large sips of punch, “You’re not in school with Rose and me. She didn’t mention you going to a different high school, which she would have if you did. So that means you’re not in high school. As you definitely don’t look like a middle schooler, the only option left is college.”

After a pregnant pause, Rey added “Or maybe Rose told me.” Rey freely laughed, forgetting how awkward she had first felt in Poe’s home.

Poe leaned in, smiling intently at Rey, as he replied in a low voice, “You’re right, I am in college.”

“Where?” Rey asked as she downed more of her drink.

“The U,” Poe drawled.

“The U?” Rey questioned in disbelief. “I thought you’d be in some snooty Ivy League school, or maybe Stanford. Not the public U…”

Poe maintained eye contact with Rey while adding one of his dashing smiles, “Rey, darling, I’m in the Honors program at the U, so it’s like the Ivy League. Besides, my dad graduated from there; I’m even in the same frat he was in.”

“Why am I not surprised you’re a frat boy?” Rey teased as she laughed along with Poe, finishing off her drink. Poe promptly replaced her empty glass with a full one, unbeknownst to Rey.

“Where would you like to go next on the grand tour?” Poe asked, maintaining eye contact as he smiled at Rey like there were no other women in the world.

“Hmmm…” Rey mused while sipping her drink, “What are my options?”

“Library, my father’s study, movie room…” Poe started rattling off, never dropping his smoldering smile.

“Library!” Rey eagerly replied.

Upon entering the library, Rey gasped, nearly spilling her drink, her jaw dropping to the floor as she gawked at more hard cover books than the school library held. _It even has a ladder on wheels for reaching the higher shelves!_ Rey practically screamed in her head, too excited to give voice to her thoughts.

“This room is amazing!” she barely whispered as she tentatively touched a leather-bound volume older than the state she lived in. She skittered from shelf to shelf, taking in the original hard covers of multiple well known literary works, including many timeless works from the 1800s and earlier.

“Is this a first edition of _Frankenstein_?!?” Rey asked in reverence.

“Ah, yes,” Poe confirmed, “My mother is a voracious reader who favors authors from past generations, she admires their way with the written word. _Frankenstein_ is one of her favorite works.”

“Yes,” Rey agreed, “Mary Shelley is a phenomenal author, even more so for achieving success in a time when women had no rights. To take inspiration from Tambora’s explosion and severe impact on worldwide weather, and so many other amazing authors who defied the confines of the time period they lived in!”

Poe leaned back against the wall, a big grin splitting his face. “Yes, this is one of my favorite rooms. We can come back later if you want. Let’s refill your cup now, though, it’s almost empty.”

“Oh!” Rey gasped as she realized Poe was right, “This punch is so good! I didn’t realize I’d drained my cup!”

Poe chuckled while assuring her, “Not a problem! Here, let me refill your cup and I’ll show you more of my humble abode!”

Rey gratefully accepted the refill from Poe thinking how nice he was, so attentive and interested in what she had to say, nothing like she thought frat boys would be. She realized she was even starting to relax and enjoy the party, something she never thought would happen.

Poe continued with the grand tour throughout the sprawling first floor, his father’s study with hard wood paneling taking Rey’s breath away. As Rey followed Poe into the sunken living room, she stumbled over her feet. _Damn nerves, being surrounded by rich strangers, I can’t even remember how to walk!_

“Whoa, Rey!” Poe cautioned, as he wrapped an arm around her waist. “Here, let me help you.”

“Thanks, Poe,” Rey thanked him with a genuine smile, “You’re so nice to me!”

“Rey,” Poe crooned, “How could anyone not be nice to you? Oh, speaking of nice, your cup is empty again, I’ll bring you another one!”

“Your home is so lovely!” Rey chirped, sipping what she thought was her third glass of punch, “What exactly do your parents do?”

“My grandfather was a pilot in the Air Force. After he retired, he started his own company and created software for fighter jets. My parents both work for the family business. They’ve got a huge contract with Boeing, hence why we live here.” Poe explained.

“Wow…” Rey breathed, suddenly finding herself dumbfounded. _That’s strange,_ she thought. _You’re smart and witty, some new guy’s family history shouldn’t leave you speechless._ Before Rey could follow that thought further, Poe interrupted her thoughts.

“Want to see the pool? View of the Puget Sound?” Poe offered.

“YES!!!!” Rey quickly agreed, a little too loudly and quickly, which she failed to notice.

“That’s great,” Poe crooned, wrapping his arm around her waist and pulling her close to his side as they opened the French doors and walked onto the patio, the blaring music engulfed them.

Rey saw the pool below them at the bottom of the brick steps, with about ten people frolicking in the pool or dancing by it. Beyond the pool stretched the immaculate grass as it sloped down to the blue water of the Puget Sound with the peninsula and Olympic Mountains in the background. The view never ceased to take her breath away.

Poe held Rey close as they walked down the steps. As she finished her drink, Poe nonchalantly passed her another cup she hadn’t noticed he even had. Rey sipped her drink to further ease her nerves as she realized she knew no one on the patio or in the pool; Rose was nowhere to be found.

“It’s a little loud,” Poe nearly shouted so Rey could hear him over the music and other party guests. “Want to go down to the hot tub? It’s closer to the water, further away from these morons.”

“Sure!” Rey eagerly replied, desperate to get away from the pounding bass and the rich strangers she didn’t feel worthy of being in their presence. Recognizing her insecure thoughts taking over once again, Rey gulped down more of the delectable punch.

Poe continued walking with one arm wrapped around Rey’s waist, holding her close to his side as he led her down the slopping backyard to the hot tub near the water’s edge, glass of punch in his other hand.

“Hey!” Rey let out, “How many glasses of punch have you had?” _And why didn’t I notice you drinking punch before?_

“Hmm…” Poe pondered as he looked as his glass, “I think it’s my third? I wasn’t really keeping track…”

“The punch is so good!” Rey enthused, stumbling slightly as they walked along the path to the hot tub.

“And here we are,” Poe announced as they reached the hot tub. “Isn’t the view amazing?”

“Wow…” Rey whispered, as she took in the view of the water, “It’s like we’re right on the water!”

“Strip down to your suit and get in, the view is even better!” Poe directed as he let go of Rey’s waist to pull off his shirt.

Rey laughed as she grabbed the hem of her dress and pulled it over her head leaving her in a string bikini. _And to think I was nervous about coming to this party! How foolish!_

Poe held Rey’s hand as he helped her up the steps and into the hot tub.

“Whoa!” Rey cried as she sunk into the hot tub, “It’s so hot!”

Poe laughed and teased, “First time in a hot tub?”

“Um,” Rey hedged, “Actually, yes, it is.”

Rey felt the steam from the water colleting on her face. So much for Rose’s hour-long makeup job, Rey thought, as she sunk down until the water touched her chin. She was not sure how late it was, but suddenly Rey felt herself growing very tired. She could easily drift off to sleep, the water was so warm and inviting…

“Rey?” Poe asked again, startling Rey from her near unconscious state.

“Hmmm….what?” Rey sleepily whispered as she turned to the side trying to find a comfortable place to lay her head down.

“Are you falling asleep on me?” Poe inquired.

“Hmmm…” Rey breathed out, incapable of words.

In the back of her mind, she vaguely registered the water rippling as Poe drew closer to her. Vague murmurs seeped into her semiconscious state, but Rey paid them no heed. She was so tired, and the water felt lusciously warm and inviting. More jostling disturbed the still water’s surface as Rey felt her body moving without her having moved a muscle. As Rey wrestled with understanding why she was struggling to stay awake, she felt without registering the implications of Poe shifting her so she sat in his lap. He wrapped his arms around her waist and let his hands graze her inner thighs.

“Poe,” Rey’s voice trembled, “I don’t feel so good.” As Rey felt her stomach starting to revolt and threaten to eject its contents at any moment, she hastily exited the hot tub paying no mind to the water she splashed everywhere as she stumbled out, falling onto her hands and knees in the grass. The cold night air in sharp contrast to the water in the hot tub abruptly brought Rey back from her near unconscious state.

The hot acid in her stomach was replaced by a stunning coldness as though she’d fallen into the Puget Sound. _Someone spiked the punch,_ Rey concluded as she quickly catalogued her symptoms and realized it was not possible for the one rum and Coke she drank at Rose’s hours earlier to have her in this condition. Rey frantically stumbled through her alcohol-addled thoughts praying to keep her wits about her so she could escape the unfortunate situation she had not even realized she was trapped in.

_Damn them all!_ Rey thought as she struggled to keep her stomach contents from spilling out of her gloss stained lips and onto Poe’s perfectly manicured lawn. _At least we’re down here by the hot tub next to the water and not closer to the McMansion with Poe’s drunk friends who I don’t know and now hope I never do._

Poe’s arm moving from her waist further south to grab her ass sobered Rey up better than a cup of coffee. _What the…how long has THAT been going on without my even noticing it?!?_

As quickly as Poe’s arm appeared around her waist, it disappeared as Rey heard the rustling sounds of Poe standing up and someone walking by the hedges.

“Benny boy!” Poe yelled while slurring his words, “What are you doing here?”

“Hello, Poe,” Ben calmly replied, “I can guess your parents are not home given the music is loud enough to wake the dead in the next county. You know, it is considered common courtesy that if you are not going to invite the whole neighborhood to your party, you keep the music down so your uninvited neighbors cannot hear it. At 1am.”

Poe started laughing so hard he fell onto the grass. As he slowly got up on one knee, a perplexed look came across his face. “Hey, wait a minute. You have a condo in Bellevue! Why are you even here when you no longer live with your parents?”

“Well, Einstein,” Ben mocked him, “My parents are in San Francisco this weekend. I am house sitting for them, making sure the dog gets walked and fed, stupid kids don’t throw a drunken party in their pool while they’re away.” As his gaze fell upon Rey in an inebriated state, he added, “I did not realize I would also need to watch out for drunk co-eds you were trying to take advantage of.”

“Huh?” Poe asked as he stumbled to his feet, looking over at Rey. “Who? Her? Psshhh…she’s NOT a coed, Ben. She’s in _high school_.”

“And you think that makes it _better?_ Poe Dameron, your parents would be so disappointed to see what you are doing right now,” Ben shot back, disdain dripping from his voice.

“What?” Poe questioned, suddenly worried by the mention of his parents, “You told my parents?!?”

“Poe, Poe, Poe,” Ben scorned, while shaking his head, “Send everyone home, now, and go to bed. Your parents have worked too hard for you to risk it by hosting an underage drinking party in their home. And your neighbors want to sleep.”

Turning to Rey, Ben asked with sincerity, “Are you okay, miss?”

“Please, call me Rey,” she got out while holding back more dry heaves. _Damn to seven hells whomever spiked the punch!_

“Would you like to stay here with Poe?” Ben kindly asked, “He undoubtedly is hoping you’ll keep his bed warm tonight.”

“Heavens no!” Rey squawked. “I just want to go to bed. Ugh, I didn’t know the punch was spiked until it was too late…”

As Rey bowed her head over the grass in case the dry heaves suddenly weren’t dry anymore, Ben softly rubbed her back.

“Here,” Ben quietly said as he offered her a water bottle, “drink this. Slowly. It will help. Trust me.”

Rey took the water and slowly sipped it, waiting to make sure her dry heaves did not intensify as her stomach cramps indicated they easily could.

“Wait a minute…” Poe began, starting to get angry.

“Poe Dameron!” Ben seethed. “I swear if you do not get out of my face right this second, I will call your parents and tell them you’re getting high school girls drunk in their home!”

“I…what….you…”Poe stammered as he struggled with coherent thought while drunk, “my parents….”

“Oh, Poe,” Ben threatened, in a low voice as he pulled out his cell, “I certainly will call your parents…”

“NO!” Poe yelled, causing Rey to wince as his too loud voice exacerbated her pounding headache.

“Then shut this party down!” Ben ordered, his frustration evident while keeping his volume down out of respect for Rey. “NOW!!!!”

“Fine!” Poe retorted, as he whipped his head so his hair swung out of his face. “I’m going! She’s your responsibility now!”

Ben shook his head as Poe stumbled his drunken way back up to the pool party, his hand again softly rubbing her back.

“I will feel so much better if you let me walk you home,” he implored her.

“I live 12 miles away.” She informed him.

“Well, that would be quite the long walk. After midnight. When you’re drunk. Please let me drive you home.” He proposed.

“If you actually care, you won’t take me home. I don’t have perfect parents like you with some fancy schmancy McMansion. My foster home will kick me out if I come in this late, buzzed as hell. I was supposed to spend tonight at my friend Rose’s.” She countered.

“Okay,” he rolled with it. “Where’s this friend Rose?”

“I don’t know,” Rey croaked, as another round of dry heaves left her gagging. “She walked off with her boyfriend shortly after we got here and I haven’t seen her since.”

“Hmmm…that is quite the predicament you are in. It is not safe to stay here, you cannot find your friend. Since you cannot go home, I can either drive you to Rose’s home or you can take advantage of one of the many guest bedrooms my parents’ McMansion offers.” He suggested, his lips turning up slightly at the corners as a slight chuckle seemed into his tone.

As Rey stopped to again dry heave, hoping she did not actually puke in front of Ben, or worse, puke on Ben after he was so kind to her, she weakly suggested, “I’m not sure if Rose is even home and, even if she were, I don’t think I could last the drive to her home without throwing up. Which I would hate to do in your car, since I couldn’t afford the cost of detailing it to clean up the mess.”

Ben calmly waited as she threw up a little bit into Poe’s hedges. Rey questioned whether eating earlier would have made it worse by having something in her stomach to actually throw up, or if the food would have lessened how drunk she currently was. Not that it mattered now, she was drunk and puking at her first party while a kind neighbor helped her escape the lecherous host trying to take advantage of her.

“Fine, alright, whatever. My head is killing me, I just want a dark, quiet place to lie down before I puke. Again” Rey relented as she stumbled, unable to walk straight across the grass despite her valiant efforts.

“Whoa,” Ben cautioned reaching out to steady her, as he continued in a soft, kind tone that managed not to further inflame her headache. “You really did not know the punch was spiked until it was too late.”

“Winner, winner, chicken dinner,” Rey weakly said, as she twisted her head away from Ben to gag into the perfectly manicured hedges. “I thought I was drinking fruit punch. I even told Poe I did not want to drink when he offered me the first glass of punch.”

“Well, you do not want to stay here, which is a wise decision I might add,” Ben softly said as he continued to help Rey slowly walk, something she was incapable of without Ben practically holding her up with one arm wrapped around her waist. “If you cannot go home, that leaves either taking you to a friend’s home or you can sleep it off at my parents’ place.”

“And we just covered why my friend’s house isn’t an option.” Rey sighed while leaning into Ben’s body for support staying upright.

“Okay,” Ben replied, continuing to slowly help Rey across the grass, “Next door to my place, or rather my parents, it is.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! Please comment if you want this one-shot to be expanded! Should Ben stay nice or turn dark?


End file.
